Bachelor of Science
in Legal Studies

Legal Studies students are given the opportunity to explore the field of law through a wide variety of courses.  From basics, like Criminal Law and Tort Law, to more advanced areas, such as Constitutional Law and Bankruptcy Law, students are provided extensive knowledge of the law and legal theory.  Students are taught to research and analyze the law, and to communicate their findings in formal legal documents.  Professional responsibility and legal ethics are taught separately and as part of all other law courses.  Law office management and litigation management include the use of software and other current technology, as well as the structure of a law office and the flow of litigation.  Legal education is founded in core courses, like science and composition that provide students with the skills necessary to study and analyze law.  The graduates of this program will be prepared for employment as paralegals or for application to graduate schools to continue their education.

Students graduating from the South College-Asheville Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies program are prepared to work as a Paralegal in an array of legal environments, under the supervision of an Attorney. Paralegals may serve many roles in a legal office but may not provide legal services directly to the public unless permitted by law.

Program Goals

• To prepare students for employment as a paralegal in law-related occupations, including     public and private law practice and/or corporate or government law-related activities; and
   
• To provide students the opportunity to pursue higher academic and career achievement with advanced studies in law, business, or government.

Program Objectives

1. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by recognizing relevant facts in a given scenario, identifying the area of law that applies, applying law from a recognized legal authority, and using legal analysis to resolve a legal issue.
    
2. Students will demonstrate effective legal research skills by creating a research plan, using both print and electronic resources to find primary sources of law, and applying them to issues requiring legal analysis.
    
3. Students will apply subject-specific legal knowledge to concrete scenarios to produce litigation and non-litigation legal documents using correct grammar, correct citations, proper format, and content appropriate to the specific document.
4. Students will identify responsibilities of a legal professional and the basic rules of legal ethics, and identify and resolve ethical dilemmas confronted in the workplace.
    
5. Students will demonstrate basic legal knowledge and draft basic documents or forms used in the areas of criminal law, tort law, domestic law, real property law, wills and estate law, and contract law.
    
6. Students will demonstrate knowledge of basics of law office management and litigation management, including the effective use of technology and organizational skills critical to those environments.
    
7. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the flow of civil litigation by creating a trial notebook that includes discovery documents, a complaint or answer, motions, and evidence to be used at trial.
8. Students will address current issues in legal ethics through memoranda of law or research papers using critical thinking skills and following the rules of proper legal drafting.
    
9. Students will demonstrate basic knowledge and draft basic documents or forms used in advanced law courses.
    
10. Students will demonstrate knowledge of Constitutional Law, its origins and application to government today; and address issues of civil rights through memoranda of law or research papers.
     
11. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the rules of criminal and civil procedure and apply them in litigation situations.
    
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